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- Written by: California Controller's Office
This month, all of the “big three” revenue sources – personal income tax, or PIT, corporation tax, and sales tax – came in higher than assumed in the enacted budget.
For the first quarter of the 2018-19 fiscal year, revenues of $28.71 billion are 5.2 percent ($1.43 billion) higher than projected in the budget enacted at the end of June.
Total revenues for FY 2018-19 thus far are 10.8 percent ($2.79 billion) higher than for the first quarter of FY 2017-18.
For September, PIT receipts of $8.44 billion were 3.7 percent ($297.4 million) more than expected in the FY 2018-19 Budget Act.
September corporation taxes of $1.30 billion were 11.2 percent ($130.9 million) above FY 2018-19 Budget Act estimates.
Sales tax receipts of $2.00 billion for September were 10.6 percent ($191.9 million) more than anticipated in the FY 2018-19 budget.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Supported by $5 million in the 2018-19 Budget, this program will offset the cost of flooding rice fields in the winter, a practice that improves soil health after the growing season and provides critical wetland habitat for birds and other wildlife along California’s Pacific Flyway.
“Researchers at UC Davis told me about the important environmental benefits winter-flooded rice provides,” said Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry. “Flooding rice fields in the winter helps decompose leftover rice straw and waste grain, which offsets open-burring, creates wetland habitat for birds, and can support nurseries for fish. Incentivizing winter-flooding is supported by environmentalists, hunters, and farmers alike.”
Winter-flooding of rice fields mitigates the environmental impacts of extensive waterbird habitat loss in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys.
Unfortunately, winter-flooding is becoming increasingly less common. Due to the emergence of alternate rice straw decomposition practices and increased water rates, winter-flooding is no longer cost competitive.
By incentivizing the practice, AB 2348 will reverse this concerning downward trend and also require fields to stay flooded longer than is typical to enhance habitat benefits for birds.
“AB 2348 promotes collaborative, voluntary programs to create wetland habitat on agricultural lands,” said Matthew Reiter, PhD scientist from Point Blue Conservation Science. “Our research found that these programs played a critical role during the recent drought – providing a significant portion of the flooded habitat for one of the continent’s largest populations of migrating waterbirds during the fall and winter that otherwise may not have been available.”
“It is great to see the importance of the California rice industry’s winter-flooded fields recognized within an official state-funded habitat initiative,” said Tim Johnson, president and CEO of the California Rice Commission. “These acres are now critical to the millions of waterbirds using the Pacific Flyway. We appreciate Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s leadership to help secure a future for winter-flooding practices benefiting waterfowl.”
The California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program will take effect starting Jan. 1, 2019.
Aguiar-Curry represents the Fourth Assembly District, which includes all of Lake and Napa counties, all of Yolo County except West Sacramento, and parts of Colusa County, Solano County and Sonoma County.
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- Written by: Lake County Winery Association
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- Written by: United State Department of Agriculture
Approximately $3 billion in payments will be made under the ARC and PLC programs for the 2017 crop year, and approximately $1.8 billion in annual rental payments under CRP for 2018.
“Despite a temporary lapse of Farm Bill authorities, farmers and ranchers can rest assured that USDA continues to work within the letter of the law to deliver much needed farm safety net, conservation, disaster recovery, and trade assistance program payments,” said Perdue.
The ARC and PLC programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and make up a portion of the agricultural safety net to producers when they experience a substantial drop in revenue or prices for their covered commodities.
“These program payments are mandated by Congress, but the Department has taken measures to ensure we meet our deadlines and get capital in the hands of those folks that need it most. Unfortunately, 2018 has proven to be another tough year for producers across the Nation, making the timeliness even more critical. Our resilient farmers, ranchers, and producers are battling more hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, floods, and even lava flows,” said Perdue.
PLC payments have triggered for 2017 barley, canola, corn, grain sorghum, wheat and other crops. In the next few months payments will be triggered for rice, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, mustard seed, rapeseed, safflower, crambe, and sesame seed.
Producers with bases enrolled in ARC for 2017 crops can visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc for updated crop yields, prices, revenue and payment rates.
The estimated payments are before application of sequestration and other reductions and limits, including adjusted gross income limits and payment limitations.
Also, this week, USDA will begin issuing 2018 CRP payments to over 362,000 landowners to support voluntary conservation efforts on private lands. “CRP has long been a useful tool for the Department to encourage farmers to take that environmentally-sensitive, more unproductive land, out of production and build-up their natural resource base. These CRP payments are meant to help encourage land stewardship and help support an operation’s bottom line,” said Perdue.